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German artist Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) is one of the most important and controversial artists of the 20th century. From the time of his appearance at the 1980 Venice Biennale, through such diverse mediums as painting, photography, artist's books, installations, and sculpture, he has interpreted the great political and cultural issues at the heart of the modern European sensibility: the connections among memory, history, and mythology; war; the Holocaust; and ethnic and national identity. His lyrical explorations of "Germanness" have prompted heated debate.

In this extensively illustrated volume -- the first complete survey of his work -- Daniel Arasse analyzes Kiefer's education, influences, philosophy, and art. Organized both chronologically and according to the artist's recurrent motifs, the book's approximately 250 full-color images trace Kiefer's creative evolution, and present his great themes in their full scope and power.